Moat hyperons in cold neutron stars

Abstract

We investigate the hyperonic equation of state within the non-linear derivative model that incorporates a momentum dependence on the interactions, with a special emphasis on properly establishing the conditions for hyperon appearance in neutron star matter. We demonstrate that hyperons can appear at finite momentum, forming a so-called ``moat" region, even when they are absent at lower momenta. Our study shows that this phenomenon significantly alters the composition and equation of state of hyperonic matter as compared to the cases when it is disregarded, highlighting the importance of accurately treating the momentum dependence of the baryon fields in dense matter.